AT FIRST GLANCE - #10 MISSOURI

Saturday marks the second meeting between Tennessee and Missouri, with the Tigers winning the inaugural matchup in Knoxville last season 51-48 in four overtimes.

It's the first-ever game for UT in the state of Missouri. The Vols are playing in two new states (Oregon) for the first time in program history this season. Missouri is the 23rd state the Vols have played in.

Missouri and Tennessee are the top two in college football history in overtime wins. Missouri (11-5) leads the country in OT wins, the Vols (10-4) are second.

Tennessee is at .500 or better (4-4) through its first eight games for the first time since 2009 (4-4).

A TENNESSEE WIN WOULD...

Snap an 18-game losing streak to ranked teams on the road (excluding neutral sites) since a 51-33 win at #10 Georgia on Oct. 7, 2006. A win would also end a streak of 11 consecutive SEC road losses since 2011.

The game vs. Missouri marks the second time in school history and the first since 2005 that Tennessee has played four ranked teams on the road in a season, all consecutively (#6 Florida, #4 LSU, #5 Alabama, #8 Notre Dame).

Including the Missouri game, Tennessee has played seven of its last eight road games vs. ranked teams since Sept. 29, 2012 at Georgia.

According to the NCAA, the Vols have played the third-toughest schedule in terms of opposition winning pct. to date at .721 (31-12) behind Purdue (.735) and Utah (.727).

LOOKING AHEAD...

If Auburn remains ranked next week, UT will play seven ranked opponents during the regular season for the first time in school history and five consecutive ranked opponents for the first time since 1991.

In 1991, UT played six ranked teams in the regular season (#21 UCLA, #23 Mississippi St., #13 Auburn, at #10 Florida, at #14 Alabama, at #5 Notre Dame). UT also played #6 Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl that season.

According to Stats, Inc., the 2013 Tennessee Vols would be the first team since Pitt in 1993 to play seven ranked teams in an eight-game stretch.

If Auburn remains in the top 10 next week, UT will tie the school record for the most top 10 opponents in a single season with five. The only other occurrence of this in school history was in 2005 (at #6 Florida, at #4 LSU, #5 Georgia, at #5 Alabama, at #8 Notre Dame).

TOP 10 TEAMS ON THE ROAD

The last win for Tennessee over a top 10-ranked opponent on the road was a 51-33 win over Georgia on Oct. 7, 2006. UT has lost eight consecutive road games to Top 10 teams since the win over Georgia in 2006.

Missouri is the third top 10 opponent Tennessee will play on the road this season, the most for UT in a single year since playing four in 2005 (at #6 Florida, at #4 LSU, at #5 Alabama, at #8 Notre Dame).

TURNOVER TICKER

The Vols have forced 18 turnovers this season, one more than the team's entire full-season 2012 total (17).

Tennessee's 12 interceptions rank tied for 12th nationally and second in the SEC.

Tennessee has intercepted a pass on 4.74% of defensive plays this season, the best rate in the SEC and the 15th-best rate nationally.

UT forced seven turnovers vs. WKU (five INTs, two fumbles), the team's most since seven vs. Memphis on Nov. 10, 1984, including forcing turnovers on an NCAA-record four consecutive plays in the first quarter.

Since 2011, Butch Jones-coached teams have forced 79 turnovers, ranking him third nationally and second among BCS coaches during that time.

Tennessee is averaging 6.00 points per game off of turnovers in 2013, tied for the third-best rate in the SEC.

JONES BY THE NUMBERS

With the win over South Carolina, Butch Jones is 9-1 as a head coach after an open week.

Teams coached by Jones are 43-2 when leading at halftime and 38-5 when leading after the first quarter

Jones' .955 winning pct. when leading at halftime ranks 6th among all head coaches during the time span since he became a head coach in 2007 (Kyle Whittingham, Bill Snyder 1.000%, Jerry Kill .969, Urban Meyer, .964, Nick Saban, .959).

GROUND ATTACK

Tennessee has rushed for 1,539 through eight games and is averaging 192.4 yards per game on the ground. UT has already eclipsed its full-season rushing totals from five of the last eight seasons (have ecliped full-season totals from 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011).

For the first time since the 1999 season the Vols have posted two games of 250 or more rushing yards through just five games. UT ran for 315 vs. Austin Peay (8/31) and 278 vs. South Alabama (9/28).

The Vols have rushed for 200-plus yards in three games this season, their most since 2009 (3) and equaling the combined total for the last three seasons (2 in 2012, 0 in 2011, 1 in 2010).

At the current pace, the Vols would finish the 2013 regular season with 2,309 rushing yards, which would be the most since a 2,418-yard output in 2004.

If the Vols run for 115.3 yards per game for rest of 2013, they would post only the second 2,000-rushing yd. season since 2004 and the third since 2000. UT rushed for 2,418 yards in 2004 and 2,043 yards in 2009.